Paddle wheel propelled boat



y 12, 1964 CONKLIN 3,132,623

PADDLE; WHEEL PROPELLED BOAT Filed June 25, 1962 2 Sheets- Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTORNEY May 12, 1964 L CONKLIN PADDLE WHEEL PROPELLED BOAT Filed June 25, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 11,1, 111 1 1 III 1111' I 1 INVENTOR Z. A W/PENCE CON/(Luv Myra )1 ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofiice 3,132,623 Patented May 12, 1964 3,132,623 PADDLE WHEEL PROPELLED BOAT Lawrence Conklin, 3429 Universal Road, Pittsburgh 35, Pa. Filed June 25, 1962, Ser. No. 204,681 1 Claim. (Cl. 115-23) This invention relates to a small boat of extremely simple construction adapted to be propelled by a paddle wheel which is actuated by foot power and which is primarily designed for use by a single occupant.

Another object of the invention is to provide a boat which is substantially unsinkable and thus extremely safe 1n use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a boat having novel meansfor trimming the craft to compensate for variations, in the weight of different users.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a boat which can be very economically manufactured and sold, which is extremely light in weight, and which is The amidships compartment 20, which is larger than the buoyant fore and aft compartments 19 and 21, respectively, contains a housing 29 which is disposed midway between and spaced from the hull sides 12 and 13 and which has an open bottom 30 which is secured to the hull bottom 14 around an opening 31 thereof, so that the housing 29 opens downwardly through the hull bottom. A paddle wheel, designated generally 32, is disposed for rotation within the housing 29 and includes a drum-shaped hub 33 and a plurality of blades or paddles 34 which project radially from the hub periphery and which are circumferentially spaced relative to one another. A shaft 35 extends axially throughand is secured fast to the hub 33. The spaced substantially parallel side walls 36 of the housing 29, as best seen in FIGURE 4, are provided with aligned bearings 37 in which end portions of the shaft 35 are journaled and from which the shaft ends project sufficiently small in over-all size that it may be conveniently stored or transported. 1

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawings, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of the boat;

FIGURE 2 is a. bottom plan view thereof;

FIGURE 3 is anenlarged longitudinal sectional view taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 3--3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a cross sectional view through the boat, taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 44 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse sectional view taken substantially along the line 55 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6. is a fragmentary side elevational view, on an enlarged scale, illustrating in detail a part of the boat, and

FIGURE 7 is a horizontal sectional view, taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 7-7 of FIGURE 6.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the paddle wheel propelled boat in its entirety is designated generally 10 and includes a hull, designated enerally 11, having corresponding opposite sides 12 and 13, a bottom 14 and a transom 15. The sides 12 and 13 converge forwardly relative to one another from the transom 15 and merge with oneanother at the bow 16.

The hull 11 is provided with transverse partition walls 17 and 18 dividing the hull into a bow compartment 19, an amidships compartment 20 and an aft or stem compartment 21. j The boat 10 includes a deck 22 extending from the forward transverse wall 17 to the bow 16 and which combines with said Wall 17 and forward portions of the sides 12 and 13 .and bottom 14 for sealing the bow compartment 19 except for a threaded opening 23 in the deck 22 which is normally closed and sealed by a threaded plug 24. The bottom 14 is substantially fiat from the transom 15 to adjacent the wall 17, and slopes upwardly from said wall 17 to the bow"16.

: The other aft transverse wall 18 terminates below the level of the upper edges or gunwales of the hull sides 12 and 13, as seen in FIGURE 3, and a seat member 25 extends from the upper edge of the wall 18 to the transom 15 and combines with said transom, the wall 18, and parts of the hull sides 12 and 13 and bottom 14 to seal the aft chamber 21. The seat member 25 has upwardly opening sockets 26 to receive lugs 27 which depend from a buoyant seat cushion 28 for detachably retaining the seat cushion in place on the seat 25.

outwardly. Cranks 38 are secured, as by setscrews 39, to the ends of the shaft 35 and extend therefrom in opposite directions, and foot pedals 40 are rotatively connected to and extend outwardly from the outer ends of the cranks 38. The bearings 37 are disposed so that as the paddle wheel 32 is revolved portions of each of the blades 34 thereof will travel through the bottom opening 31 and below the bottom 14, as seen in FIGURES 3 and 4.

An upright tubular column 41 is connected to the rear portion of the housing 29 and opens downwardly, as seen at 42 in FIGURE 3, through a part of the bottom 14. A steering post 43 has a lower portion journaled in the column 41. A steering wheel 44 is secured to the upper end of the steering post 43 and is disposed above a part of the compartment 20, forwardly of and adjacent the seat cushion 28. As best seen in FIGURES 6 and 7, the upper end of the column 41 has a recess 45 in its forward side in which engages a pin 46 which projects radially from a part of the steering post 43 for supporting said steering post in the column 41 with a part thereof protruding downwardly from the opening 42 and the bottom 14. The recess 45 provides a stop to limit the extent of swinging movement of the pin 46 and the extent that the post 43 can be oscillated in the column 41.

A hub 47 is secured by a setscrew 48 to the lower end of the steering post 43 and a washer 49 is disposed between said hub and the bottom 14. A gear segment 50 is secured to and projects rearwardly from the hub 47.

A pin 51 is secured to and extends downwardly from the bottom 14, rearwardly of the gear segment 50 to receive and journal a hub 52 which is mounted between washers 53, carried by said pin. A cross pin 54 extends through the pin 51, below the lower washer 53 for retaining the hub 52 thereon. A rudder 55 is fixed to and extends rearwardly from the hub 52, and a gear segment 56 is fixed to and extends forwardly from said hub 52. The teeth of the gear segments 50 and 56 are disposed in meshing engagement with on another, as clearly illustrated in FIGURE 2.

The boat 10 is adapted to accommodate a single occupant who sits upon the cushion 28 facing forwardly, holding the steering wheel 44 with his hands and with his feet engaging the pedals 40. The pedals 40 are manipulated by foot pressure to revolve the paddle wheel 32 counterclockwise, as seen in FIGURE 3, for propelling the boat 10 in a forward direction or from right to left, or said pedals may be actuated to revolve the paddle wheel 32 clockwise to propel the boat astern. The steering wheel 44 can be turned for swinging the rudder 55 in either direction from its position of FIGURE 2 for steering the boat either to the port or starboard while moving in either direction.

The buoyant fore and aft sealed chambers 19 and 21 make the boat 10 substantially nonsinkable. Where the a weight of the occupant is such as to cause the boat to settle at its stern, the plug 24 can be removed and the bow chamber 19 weighted by being partially filled with water to trim the craft.

The boat 10, except for its shaft and bearings, may be formed of a plastic such a Fiberglas and may be molded in longitudinal halves with the paddle Wheel applied before the halves are joined together, or may be molded in separate front and rear halves, divided along the line 44 of FIGURE 3, so that the paddle Wheel 32 and and bearings 37 may be applied before the boat halves are joined.

.While the boat is adapted to be made in variou sizes, it is primarily intended for use by children, and may be of a length of approximately four feet and thus of a Weight so that it can be conveniently lifted and carried to and from the Water and conveniently transported in a motor vehicle.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may be resorted to, without departing from the function or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:

A single occupant boat comprising a hull having a large enclosed stern compartment, a small enclosed bow compartment, said how compartment including a normally sealed opening to admit water ballast thereto, and an upwardly opening amidships compartment, said hull including sides which converge from said stern compartment to the forward end of the bow compartment and a bottom having a flat portion extending from the stern of the'boat to the forward end of the amidships compartment; a housing forming a part or" said amidships compartment and opening downwardly through the bottom thereof, a paddle wheel journaled in said housing and partially protruding from the open bottom thereof, cranks including foot pedals disposed externally on opposite sides of said housing and connected to the paddle wheel for revolving the paddle Wheel in either direction, steering means including a manually actuated member extending upwardly from said amidships compartment behind said housing, said stern compartment defining a large sealed buoyant chamber, and a seat supported on said buoyant chamber within the hull and positioned to accommodate an occupant in a position for manipulating the food pedals and said steering member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 319,242 Hagen June 2, 1885 428,249 Harfield May 20, 1890 599,237 Johnson Feb. 15, 1898 978,391 Neu Dec. 13, 1910 1,026,336 Williams May 14, 1912 1,321,541 Nelsen Nov. 11, 1919 1,698,792 Hammer Jan. 15, 1929 2,980,924 Canazzi Apr. 25, 1961 

